News & Events
Third Sunday of Easter
Posted in News
19th. April 2026
Gospel Lk 24:13-35
That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? “Then beginning with all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” So, they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
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Homily
There is no disappointment as deep as that which comes with the destruction of a hero, especially when that hero embodies the ideals for which one lives. One can well imagine the pain of the disciples as they leave Jerusalem. They tell the stranger whom they meet on the road, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel”. The stranger who meets them is a special person. He does not leave them in despair. He walks with them and helps them come to a true understanding of all that had happened. He must have told them that the redemption of Israel was not a political redemption, that it was about the restoration of the world to its original state of harmony and that the messiah’s death was essential for that restoration. The restoration of the world to its original state of harmony is the new creation of which we are reminded so often during the Easter season, and this meeting of Jesus with the disciples exemplifies it.
Just as God walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening, so Jesus walks with the disciples on the road to Emmaus in the cool of the evening. Just as disharmony descends on the world in the Genesis account, now the possibility of harmony is rekindled. As Jesus explains the scripture to them, their hearts burn within them because of the new possibilities which the scriptures offer. The despair of our first parents because of the loss of Eden and relived in the despair of the disciples because of the crucifixion is removed in the new possibilities offered. And then in a setting of harmony, an evening meal, they recognize Jesus, their Lord and God. They no longer have to hide from God, as Adam and Eve did; now they sup with God. The Gospel texts tell us that Jesus explained to the disciples how to achieve this harmony, “Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.” That message that the risen Jesus gave to the disciples is the perennial message of Jesus and of every true Christian. Jesus’ life and death was to gather all who were scattered. And how that is achieved is in the breaking of bread, the primordial symbol of harmonious relations. Reflecting on this message, St. Paul tells us that the mission of the church is a mission of reconciliation, reconciliation with God and with each other. It is the bringing of people together to “break bread” with God in their midst.
Are our hearts not filled with gratitude that our God walks with us in our daily pilgrimage? Do our own hearts not burn within us as we see the possibility of true reconciliation between parents and children, brothers and sisters, between husbands and wives and between members of religious communities? Do we not long for the day when as citizens of the world we no longer have to live behind burglar proofing and we can take a moonlight stroll along the beach without fear of assault? These things are things we all hope for, but hope carries with it, the determination to work for that which we hope. The disciples of Jesus after the Ascension immediately began to work to bring the vision to fulfillment. The early church worked to bring this vision to reality. The Acts of the apostles tell us that the first Christians held everything in common and distributed to everyone according to their needs. All the saints whom we venerate worked to make this vision a reality, many of them through education and health care and the great persons of our epoch have all done the same. If the Church gives us saints, it is so that we not only venerate them but also find in them the behaviours which we must imitate. Like them, the hope which Easter re-enkindles in our hearts must lead us to actively seek the harmony for which Christ gave his life.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, your walk with the disciples on the road to Emmaus shows us that you never give up on your people. Despite their faults and betrayals, You continue to walk with them, inspiring them and showing them the way. Despite our infidelities, we ask that you do not abandon us, continue to walk with us, instruct us so that our hearts may burn within us, creating the enthusiasm we need to proclaim your message of harmony to all who surround us. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our mother and your son Jesus. Amen
